Does electronic prescribing of controlled substances deter controlled substance prescribing in emergency departments?

To examine the association between electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS) and controlled substance prescription patterns in U.S. emergency departments (ED). We conducted cross-sectional analysis at both the ED level and visit level, using the 2016–2017 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys. The sample included 24,296 visits to 316 EDs, 45% of which utilized EPCS. Pain-related visits were associated with significantly higher odds of prescriptions for any controlled substances (OR = 1.52; 95% CI: 1.32–1.75; p